©uUtntltitt   ©ollfjje 


GIVEN    BY 


Vo.\i\\sVet 


This  book  is  due  two  weeks  from  the  last  date  stamped 
below,  and  if  not  returned  at  or  before  that  time  a  fine  of 
five  cents  a  day  will  be  incurred. 


.WN  3  4  193  a 


52d  Congrkss,  }         HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  (  Mis.  Doc. 

1st  Session.       j  \    No.  141. 


ADDRESSES 


PRESENTATION  OF  THE  PORTRAITS 


SPEAKERS  GROW  AND  RANDALL, 

Late  Representatives  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 


DELIVERED    IN    THE 


HOUSE   OF   REPRESENTATIVES, 


Fifty-Second  Congress,  First  Session. 


PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  CONGRESS. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT      PRINTING      OFFICE. 
I  S92. 


CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION  to  provide  for  the  printing  of  the  addresses  upon  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  portraits  of  Hons.  Galusha  A.  Grow  and  Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Resoht'd  bv  the  House  of  Representatives  {the  Senate  eoncurring)^  That  there  be  printed 
ten  thousand  copies  of  the  addresses  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on 
January  21,  1892,  upon  the  presentation  of  the  portraits  of  Hon.  Galusha  A.  Grow 
and  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Randall  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  That  out  of 
this  number  the  Public  Printer  will  deliver  fifty  copies  to  Mr.  Grow,  fifty  copies  to 
Mrs.  Samuel  J.  Randall,  one  hundred  copies  to  the  committee  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature  touching  said  portraits,  one  thousand  to  the  folding  room  of  the  Senate 
for  the  use  of  Senators,  and  the  remainder  to  the  House  for  the  use  of  Members  and 
Delegates. 

Agreed  to  by  the  House  of  Representatives  March  10,  1S92. 

Agreed  to  by  the  Senate  March  9,  1S92. 

2 


to 

a) 
f- 


PROCEEDINGS  IX  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


January  21,  1892. 
The  Speaker  pro  tempore.     The  Clerk  will  read  the  resolu- 
tion which  directs  the  order  of  proceedings  for  this  hour. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  January  21,  at  2  o'clock  p.  m.,  be  set  apart 
for  the  presentation  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
portraits  of  ex-Speakers  GROW  and  Randall  by  the  Common- 
wealth of  Penns>-lvania,  and  that  upon  the  occasion  the  com- 
mittees of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  of  that  State 
be  admitted  to  the  floor. 

[The  portraits  of  the  ex-Speakers  named  in  the  resolution 
(painted,  under  the  direction  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, by  W.  A.  Greaves,  of  Warren,  Pa.)  were  placed  in  the 
area  in  front  of  the  Clerk's  desk.] 

Hon.  Galusha  a.  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania,  ex-Speaker,  occu- 
pied a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the  House. 

The  Speaker /;■<?  tempore.  The  officers  of  the  House  will 
admit  the  gentlemen  who  are  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the 
floor  under  the  resolution  which  has  been  read. 

In  pursuance  of  the  resolution,  the  following-named  officers 
and  members  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  entered  and  took 
the  seats  assigned  them : 

Hon.  J.  P.  S.  Gobin,  president  pro  tempore  of  the  senate; 
Hon.  C.  C.  Thompson,  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives; 
Hon.  D.  B.  McCreary,  member  of  the  senate;  Hon.  F.  W. 
Hayes  and  Hon.  J.  H.  Fow,  members  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. 

3 


196878 


Addresses  delivered  on  (lie  Presentation  of  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Charles  W.  Stone,  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Speaker:  Three  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  at  different 
periods  in  our  history  have  presided  over  the  deliberations  of 
this  House. 

Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg  was  Speaker  of  the  First  and 
Third  Congresses. 

Galusha  a.  Grow  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Congress  at  its  meeting  in  extra  session  on  the  4th  day 
of  July,  1861,  and  presided  over  the  subsequent  sessions  of  that 
memorable  Congress. 

Samuel  J.  R.\ndall  came  to  the  chair  to  fill  a  vacancy  at 
the  commencement  of  the  second  session  of  the  Forty-fourth 
Congress  and  was  reelected  Speaker  of  the  Forty-fifth  and  Forty- 
sixth  Congresses. 

The  portrait  of  Speaker  Muhlenberg,  from  an  authentic 
painting  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants,  was  e.xecuted  by 
an  eminent  artist  and  presented  to  this  House  several  years  ago 
by  members  of  the  Muhlenberg  family  and  now  adorns  the  walls 
of  the  corridor  of  this  Hall,  an  acceptable  and  worthy  memento 
of  the  distinguished  Speaker  of  the  First  Congress.  The  more 
recent  presentation  to  this  House  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  of  portraits  of  her  illustrious  sons.  Speakers  Var- 
num,  Sedgwick,  and  Banks,  served  to  attract  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  other  Speakers  from  Pennsylvania  were  inade- 
quately and  unworthily  represented  by  inferior  likenesses  upon 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  5 

your  walls;  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  January,  1891,  Governor  Beaver  called  attention  to 
this  matter  in  the  following  language: 

"The  attention  of  the  executive  has  lately  been  called  to  the 
fact,  by  persons  deeply  interested  in  the  subject,  that  whilst  the 
Speakers  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
Congress  from  Massachusetts  are  represented  in  the  corridors  of 
its  Hall  by  oil  paintings  presented  to  Congress  by  that  ancient 
Commonwealth,  the  services  of  men  equally  worthy  and  dis- 
tinguished who  occupied  the  same  place  from  Pennsylvania  are 
perpetuated  by  cheap  crayon  portraits.  We  are  too  little  dis- 
posed in  Pennsylvania  to  recognize  the  merits  and  perpetuate 
the  memon,'  of  men  who  have  served  with  distinguished  zeal 
and  conspicuous  ability  in  public  place. 

"  Two  Representatives  in  Congress  from  Pennsylvania  have 
in  late  years  occupied  the  Speaker's  chair:  Galusha  A.  Grow 
and  Samuel  J.  Raxdall.  Their  place  in  history,  the  distin- 
guished part  which  they  took  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  the 
conspicuous  service  rendered  by  them  in  the  exalted  position 
to  which  they  were  respectively  called,  would  seem  to  demand 
at  our  hands  some  special  recognition.  I  respectfully  recom- 
mend, therefore,  that  a  reasonable  appropriation  be  made  for 
painting  the  portraits  of  these  two  gentlemen,  to  be  presented 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  in  a  public  manner,  as  a  token  of  the  pride  and  appreci- 
ation which  the  people  of  our  Commonwealth  have  in  the 
memory  and  the  services  of  these  distinguished  men." 

The  lycgislature  of  the  State  responded  promptly  to  the  gov- 
ernor's suggestion,  and  by  act  of  April  29,  1891,  provided  as 
follows: 

''Be  it  enacted,  etc..  That  a  committee  consisting  of. the 
president /;-()  tempore  of  the  senate,  the  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives,  and  two  members  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, and  one  member  of  the  senate,  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
speaker  and  president  pro  tempore  thereof,  respectively,  whose 
dutv  it  shall  be  to  select  an  artist  who  shall  paint  the  portraits 
of  Samuel  J.  Randall  and  Galusha  A.  Grow,  formerly 
Speakers  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
Congress  and  cause  said  portraits  to  be  presented  to  the  House 


6  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Prese>itation  of  the 

of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  Congress  in  a  pnblic 
manner,  as  a  token  of  the  pride  and  appreciation  which  the  peo- 
ple of  this  Commonwealth  have  in  the  memory  and  services 
of  these  distinguished  men." 

The  committee  appointed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  con- 
sists of  Hon.  J.  P.  S.  Gobin,  president  pro  tempore  of  the  sen- 
ate; Hon.  C.  C.  Thompson,  speaker  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives; Gen.  D.  B.  McCreary,  from  the  senate,  and  Messrs. 
F.  W.  Hays  and  John  H.  Fow,  of  the  house  of  representatives. 
This  committee  secured  the  services  of  W.  A.  Greaves,  of 
Warren,  Pa.,  and  intrusted  to  him  the  work  of  painting  the 
portraits  of  Messrs  Grow  and  Randall.  Mr.  Greaves  was 
fortunate  in  securing  the  personal  attendance  in  his  studio  of 
ex-Speaker  Grow,  and  has  thus  been  able  to  present  from  life 
a  faithful  portrait  of  him,  but  softened  and  silvered  somewhat 
by  the  lapse  of  time  since  he  occupied  the  chair  of  this  House. 

For  the  portrait  of  Mr.  Randall  the  artist  had  as  a  guide 
only  a  photograph  furnished  by  the  family  and  the  crayon  por- 
trait upon  the  wall  of  the  corridor  of  the  House,  but  he  has 
sought  to  produce,  and  I  believe  with  great  success,  a  faithful 
portrait  of  Speaker  Randall  as  he  was  when  he  occupied  the 
chait  of  this  House. 

The  committee  of  the  L,egislature  of  Pennsylvania  are  now 
present,  and,  by  your  courtesy,  upon  the  floor  of  the  House. 
It  is  also  a  pleasant  feature  of  this  occasion  that  we  have  with 
us  ]Mr.  Grow,  erect,  alert,  and  vigorous,  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  the  talents  and  powers  which  gave  him  eminence  in  this 
House. 

And  now,  sir,  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  and 
speaking  in  behalf  of  the  committee  of  her  L,egislature  here 
present,  I  present  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  Congress  these  portraits  of  its  former  Speakers,  Galusha 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  7 

A.  Grow  and  Samuel  J.  Randall.  They  are  tendered  to  you, 
in  the  apt  language  of  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  "  as  a 
token  of  the  pride  and  appreciation  which  the  people  of  that 
Commonwealth  have  in  the  memory  and  services  of  these  dis- 
tinguished men"  and  in  the  hope  that  they  will  prove  a  fitting 
memorial  of  eminent  services  in  the  past  and  an  inspiration  to 
patriotic  efforts  in  the  future. 

Sir,  the  successful  Speaker  of  this  House  must  be  recognized 
as  a  great  man.  Our  peculiar  parliamentary  system  concen- 
trates in  his  hands  vast  powers  and  imposes  great  responsibili- 
ties. To  execute  the  one  justly  and  impartially  and  to  meet 
the  other  efficiently  and  successfully  requires  talents  and  qual- 
ities, mental,  moral,  and  physical,  of  no  common  grade.  This 
is  especially  so  in  periods  of  general  unrest,  when  the  passions 
and  prejudices  of  men  are  highly  excited  and  their  feelings  and 
convictions  are  deeply  aroused.  It  was  at  such  periods  that 
the  sons  of  Pennsylvania  occupied  the  chair  of  this  House. 

When  the  First  Congress  assembled  the  Government  had 
hardly  been  formed.  The  Constitution  had  been  but  recently 
established.  The  chaos  which  succeeded  the  close  of  the  Rev- 
olution was  but  slowly  giving  place  to  more  orderly  methods 
and  more  systematic  government.  That ' '  more  perfect  union, ' ' 
which  was  a  primary  purpose  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, rested  as  yet  but  uneasily  and  insecurely  upon  the  various 
elements  united.  The  great  question  of  the  extent  of  the  del- 
egated powers  of  the  General  Government  and  the  reserved 
rights  of  the  States  was  a  practical  problem  commanding 
attention  of  the  best  minds  in  the  new  Republic.  To  satisfac- 
torily adjust  its  relations  with  the  people  and  to  put  in  practical 
running  order  this  new  Government  for  a  new  nation  was  the 
onerous  task  which  confronted  the  First  Congress.     Among  its 


8  Addresses  delivered  on  ike  Presentation  of  the 

members  were  many  of  the  fathers  of  the  Republic,  and  to  be 
called  upon  to  preside  over  that  body  and  direct  its  delibera- 
tions, and  so  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office  as  to  secure 
a  subsequent  reelection,  was  a  high  tribute  to  the  talents, 
abilities,  and  character  of  Pennsylvania's  distinguished  son, 
Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg. 

Nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  later,  when  reason  and 
argument  had  failed  to  settle  the  great  question  of  the  relative 
powers  and  rights  of  the  General  Government  and  of  the 
individual  States  and  the  dread  arbitrament  of  war  had  been 
invoked  ;  when  clouds  hung  dark  and  portentous  over  the 
nation's  horizon,  and  men  were  asking  themselves  and  asking 
each  other,  with  fear  and  trembling,  whether  this  nation  must 
indeed  go  down  in  blood  and  ruin,  President  Lincoln  sum- 
moned the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  to  meet  in  extraordinary 
session  on  the  anniversary  of  the  nation's  birth.  The  men 
who  answered  that  call  came  fresh  from  the  people.  They 
voiced  the  patriotic  purpose  and  the  firm  determination  that 
the  Union  should  be  preserved  aaid  the  nation  saved. 

Among  them  were  the  great  commoner  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
the  venerable  statesman  John  J.  Crittenden,  the  dashing  Logan, 
and  the  stately  Conkling,  Washburne,  Colfax,  Lovejoy,  Voor- 
hees,  Holman,  Wilson,  Windom,  Dawes,  Morrill,  Fenton, 
Kelley,  Hickman,  McPherson,  Blair,  Wheeler,  Pendleton, 
Wickliffe,  Cox,  Maynard,  and  others  no  less  able  and  distin- 
guished, but  of  all  that  remarkable  body  of  men  who  gathered 
in  this  Hall  on  that  July  morning  not  one  remains  still  a  mem- 
ber of  this  House  except  the  venerable  and  distinguished  gentle- 
man from  Indiana,  Judge  Holman. 

The  House  organized  promptly.  Without  the  formality  of  a 
caucus,  and  with  no  persistent  opposition,  Galusha  A.  Grow 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grozo  and  Randall.  9 

was  elected  Speaker  on  the  first  ballot.  He  had  entered  Con- 
gress ten  years  before,  its  youngest  member.  His  persistent  and 
unyielding  championship  of  the  homestead  bill,  his  careful  study 
of  the  great  questions  then  agitating  the  country,  his  readiness 
in  speech,  his  fertility  of  resource,  his  parliamentary  knowledge, 
his  courageous  and,  I  might  say,  almost  aggressive  defense  of  his 
personal  rights  and  dignity  and  of  the  deep  convictions  of  the 
great  loyal  North,  specially  designated  him  as  the  man  to  take 
the  helm,  and  bravely  and  well  he  held  it. 

Samuel  J.  Randall  entered  the  House  when  Grow  left  it. 
During  the  closing  years  of  the  war  and  the  turbulent  period 
of  reconstruction  he  served  with  constantly  increasing  efficienc}- 
and  prominence  as  a  member  of  this  bod)-,  and  when  the  death 
of  Speaker  Kerr,  in  the  fall  of  1S76,  rendered  a  new  election 
necessary,  he  naturally  succeeded  to  the  Speakership. 

When  he  took  the  chair  partisan  feeling  ran  high.  The  re- 
sult of  the  recent  national  election  was  still  in  dispute,  and  the 
contest  continued  during  the  entire  winter,  taking  shape  in  the 
closing  hours  of  the  .session  in  an  effort  to  prevent  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  counting  of  the  electoral  vote.  As  descriptive  of 
the  conduct  and  bearing  of  Speaker  Randall  in  that  critical 
juncture  I  can  not  do  better  than  quote  from  his  own  words 
when  he  offered  the  resolution  in  this  House  accepting  the  por- 
traits of  Sedgwick,  Varnum,  and  Banks.     Said  he: 

"Soon  after  I  entered  this  House,  now  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  I  came  to  consider  that  that  office  which  you,  sir, 
now  temporarily  hold  was  the  highest  office  within  the  reach 
of  an  American  citizen;  that  it  was  a  grand  official  station, 
great  in  the  honors  which  it  conferred  and  still  greater  in  the 
ability  it  gave  to  impress  upon  our  history  and  legislation  the 
stamp  of  truth,  fairness,  justice,  and  right.  *  *  *  When  it 
fell  to  my  fortune  to  occup>-  the  Speaker's  chair,  I  realized 
how  true  was  my  idea  of  the  position  and  its  possibilities  ;  and 


10  Addresses  delivered  o)i  the  Presentation  of  the 

I  do  not  believe  there  is  anyone  worthy  of  being  mentioned 
in  connection  with  it  who,  the  very  instant  he  takes  it,  will  not 
become  so  broad  and  generons  in  the  scope  of  his  political 
vision  as  to  act  regardless  of  individnal  and  personal  conse- 
quences and  only  for  the  best  interests  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, as  his  judgment  shall  dictate." 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  rose  grandly  above  the  fettering 
entanglements  of  partisan  allegiance  and  demonstrated  that  he 
had  indeed  ' '  become  so  broad  and  generous  in  the  scope  of  his 
political  vision  as  to  act  regardless  of  individual  and  personal 
consequences  and  only  for  the  best  interests  of  the  American 
people."  The  count  proceeded  to  a  close.  The  danger  of 
violence,  bloodshed,  and  anarchy  passed  by,  and  the  country 
recognized  the  strong  will  and  the  stern  virtue  of  Samuel  J. 
Randall  as  a  potent  factor  in  preserving  the  nation's  peace. 

It  has  been  my  purpose,  Mr.  Speaker,  thus  briefly  to  simply 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Speakers  of  this  House  from 
Pennsylvania  have  occupied  the  chair  at  turbulent  and  memor- 
able epochs  in  our  history,  and  have  so  carried  themselves  in 
their  high  office  as  to  give  that  grand  old  Commonwealth  just 
cause  to  cherish  with  pride  the  fact  that  they  were  her  sons; 
and  I  leave  to  my  colleagues,  their  successors  on  this  floor,  now 
representing  the  districts  which  honored  them  and  which  they 
more  greatly  honored,  the  grateful  task  of  detailing  more  fully 
their  services  and  delineating  more  completely  their  characters. 

But,  sir,  I  can  not  forbear  from  paying  my  tribute  of  reverent 
homage  to  one  marked  characteristic  common  to  both.  They 
were  singtilarly  pure,  honest,  and  earnest  in  their  convictions 
and  conduct,  and  of  unflinching  courage  in  their  allegiance  to 
those  convictions.  Where  the  path  of  duty  led,  or  where  they 
thought  it  led,  they  trod,  utterly  regardless  of  difficulties  or 
dangers. 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  1 1 

And  now,  sir,  the  Cominonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  tenders  to 
you  these  faithful  reproductions  of  the  physical  lineaments  of 
her  distinguished  sons.  Their  services,  their  time,  and  their 
strength,  their  best  qualities  and  most  earnest  efforts  of  mind 
and  heart,  she  has  freely  given  to  the  nation  in  the  years  that 
are  past.  The  record  of  their  services  and  achievements  has 
gone  into  their  country's  history.  Their  examples  and  their 
characters,  for  emulation  and  inspiration,  are  and  must  remain 
a  part  of  the  nation's  treasures.      [Applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Wright,  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Spe.'Vker:  It  is  always  less  embarrassing  to  eulogize 
men  who  have  passed  away  than  those  who  are  still  among  us, 
for  the  kindly  veil  that  Death  draws  leaves  visible  only  the 
bright  spots  in  the  lives  of  the  departed. 

We  are  too  often  called  upon  with  saddened  minds  and  hearts 
filled  with  grief  to  bear  testimony  to  the  virtues  and  graces  of 
those  who  have  left  vacant  places,  and  all  angularities  and 
asperities  are  softened  and  forgotten  by  the  knowledge  that 
they  will  walk  among  us  no  more. 

But  of  those  who  are  still  living,  who  are  still  fighting  the 
battle  of  life  and  whose  names  may  still  be  heard  in  the  polit- 
ical arena,  it  requires  a  full  measure  of  faith  and  confidence  in 
their  manhood,  ability,  and  patriotism  to  proclaim  them  as 
worthy  of  the  bright  chaplet  of  fame  without  fear  of  its  luster 
becoming  dimmed. 

Galxjsha  a.  Grow,  whom  we  are  here  to-day  to  honor,  was 
born  in  Ashford,  Windham  Count>-,  Conn. ,  from  which  place 
he  removed  to  Susquehanna  County,  Pa.,  in  May,  1S34,  being 


12  Addj^esses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  tJze 

at  that  time  about  ten  years  of  age.  In  the  spring  of  1838 
he  entered  Franklin  Academy  at  Harford,  Pa.,  leavine  there  in 
1840  to  enter  Amherst  College,  from  which  he  graduated  with 
high  honors  in  1844.  In  1845  ^'^^  began  studying  law  with 
Hon.  F.  B.  Streeter,  of  Montrose,  Pa.,  and  on  April  19,  1847, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Susquehanna  County. 

In  1848  he  became  a  law  partner  of  Hon.  David  Wilmot,  of 
Bradford  County,  Pa.,  and  when,  in  1850,  Mr.  Wilmot,  the  can- 
didate of  the  Free  Soil  branch,  and  James  Lowery,  the  candi- 
date of  the  Proslavery  branch  of  the  Democratic  part}-,  with- 
drew as  candidates  for  Congress,  Mr.  Grow  received  the  nomi- 
nation from  both  branches  of  the  party  and  was  elected. 

Thus  Mr.  Grow,  over  forty  years  ago,  became  a  member  of 
the  Thirty-second  Congress,  and  at  once  became  prominent  in 
its  deliberations;  and,  after  ten  years  of  honorable  service  on 
the  floor  of  the  House,  the  best  proof  of  the  high  estimation 
in  which  he  was  held  by  his  colleagues  is  the  fact  that  the}' 
elected  him  to  the  third  position  in  the  land,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

In  the  ten  years  preceding  his  election  as  Speaker  he  served 
with  distinction  On  the  Committees  on  Indian  Affairs,  Agri- 
culture, and  Territories,  being  a  member  of  the  latter  for  six 
years  and  its  chairman  for  four  years. 

In  this  decade  many  stirring  questions  disturbed  the  public 
mind.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise,  which  caused 
Mr.  Grow's  withdrawal  from  the  Democratic  party,  which  had 
elected  him,  the  Kansas  troubles,  the  Lecompton  bill,  the  home- 
stead bill,  and  the  Pacific  Railroad  bills  all  agitated  the  political 
sea,  and  the  experience  of  time  has  demonstrated  the  wisdom 
of  the  stand  taken  by  him  on  all  these  important  measures. 

After  leaving  Congress  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Re- 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grozv  and  Kaiidatl.  13 

publican  coii\-eiitioii  at  Baltimore  which  renominated  Lincoln. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  State  Republican  committee  in  the 
Grant  campaign  of  1868,  and  in  1884  he  was  delegate  to  the 
Republican  convention  at  Chicago  which  nominated  Blaine. 

Four  years,  from  1870  to  1875,  he  was  in  Texas,  president  of 
the  International  and  Great  Northern  Railroad,  which  has 
since  been  extended  to  the  city  of  Mexico. 

Early  in  his  Congressional  career  he  became  an  earnest 
advocate  of  the  homestead  bill,  and  as  the  name  of  Galush.\ 
A.  Grow  has  been  so  indissolubly  connected  with  that  politic 
and  excellent  measure  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  it  a 
proper  prominence  in  this  connection. 

Though  the  exact  origin  of  the  idea,  afterwards  exemplified 
in  the  homestead  law,  is  somewhat  obscure,  it  certainly  was 
one  of  those  measures  which  were  evolved  from  the  will  of  the 
people,  gathering  in  force,  slowly  but  surely,  until  they  over- 
came all  opposition. 

It  was  doubtless  an  outgrowth  of  that  series  of  laws  known 
as  donation  acts,  a  course  of  sporadic  legislation  extending 
from  the  year  1842  to  1850,  the  first  bearing  on  donations  of 
lands  in  Florida  and  the  last  referring  to  the  new  Territory  of 
Oregon,  the  lands  being  given  to  induce  people  to  settle  in 
distant  and  dangerous  localities. 

The  enactment  of  these  laws  fostered  the  sentiment  growing 
so  rapidly  in  the  public  mind  that  "the  public  lands  are  a 
heritage  of  the  people"  that  the  question  became  a  burning 
one  and  was  agitated  at  every  political  gathering,  and  was  the 
all-engrossing  topic  until  it  assumed  national  importance  as 
the  great  issue  to  be  determined  at  the  polls,  by  the  action  of 
the  national  convention  of  the  Free  Soil  Democracy  at  Pitts- 
burg in   1852,  when   the  popular  sentiment  assumed  definite 


14  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presetitation  of  the 

shape  in  the   declaration  of  principles  adopted,    the  twelfth 
resolution  of  which  reads  as  follows: 

"That  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States  belong  to  the 
people  and  should  not  be  sold  to  individuals  nor  granted  to  cor- 
porations, but  should  be  held  as  a  sacred  trust  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people,  and  should  be  granted  in  limited  quantities,  free  of 
cost,  to  landless  settlers." 

I  believe  the  first  bill  presented  to  Congress  granting  small 
tracts  of  Government  lands  free  to  actual  settlers  was  introduced 
in  the  Thirty-first  Congress  by  Horace  Greeley,  and  although 
no  action  was  taken  on  his  bill,  yet  he  continued  advocating  the 
measure  in  the  editorial  columns  of  the  New  York  Tribune  until 
tlie  proposition  became  enacted  into  a  law  of  the  land. 

From  the  time  he  entered  the  Thirty-second  Congress  until 
the  final  passage  of  the  law,  and  signature  by  President  Lincoln 
on  May  20,  1862,  Mr.  Grow  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  a  free- 
homestead  law,  and  his  voice  was  often  heard,  and  his  energies 
always  directed,  in  favor  of  its  success. 

In  the  Thirty-third  Congress,  December  14,  1853,  he  intro- 
duced his  homestead  bill,  and  also  in  the  Thirty-fourth  Con- 
gress, as  soon  as  the  Speaker  was  elected,  January  4,  1858,  he 
again  introduced  his  bill.  And  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Congress, 
February  15,  i860,  a  few  days  after  the  election  of  Speaker,  he 
introduced  his  homestead  bill  and  at  the  same  time  a  bill  to  pre- 
vent all  sales  of  the  public  lands  except  to  actual  settlers. 

His  speeches  upon  these  measures,  delivered  at  different  times 
during  the  many  years  it  was  under  discussion,  were,  I  believe, 
the  most  forcible  and  convincing  of  any  made  in  its  favor  before 
Congress,  and  the  following  quotations  therefrom  will  show  the 
broad  scope  of  his  argument,  and  at  the  same  time  call  to  mind 
sentiments  the  beauty  and  wisdom  whereof  is  only  emphasized 
by  experiences  of  time.     In  the  Thirty-second  Congress  he  says: 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  15 

"The  fundamental  rights  of  man  may  be  summed  up  in  two 
words— life  and  happiness.  The  first  is  the  gift  of  the  Creator, 
and  mav  be  bestowed  at  his  pleasure;  btit  it  is  not  consistent 
with  His  character  for  benevolence  that  it  should  be  bestowed 
for  any  other  purpose  than  to  be  enjoyed,  and  that  we  call  hap- 
piness. Therefore,  whatever  nature  has  provijded  for  preserv- 
ing the  one,  or  promoting  the  other,  belongs  alike  to  the  whole 
race.  And  as  the  means  for  sustaining  life  are  derived  almost 
entirely  from  the  soil,  every  person  has  a  right  to  so  much  of 
the  earth's  surface  as  is  necessary  for  his  support." 

Again,  in  a  speech  on  the  homestead  bill  in  the  Thirty-third 

Congress,  he  says: 

"The  prosperity  of  States  depends  not  on  the  mass  of  wealth, 
but  in  its  distribution.  That  country  is  greatest  and  most 
glorious  in  which  there  is  the  greatest  number  of  happy  fire- 
sides. ' ' 

And  still  again  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Thirt>--sixtli  Con- 
gress, in  favor  of  the  homestead  bill,  introduced  by  himself,  he 
says : 

"National  disasters  are  not  the  growth  of  a  day,  but  the  fruit 
of  long  years  of  injustice  and  wrong.  The  seeds  planted  by 
false,  pernicious  legislation  often  require  ages  to  germinate  and 
ripen  into  their  harvests  of  ruin  and  death.  The  most  per- 
nicious of  all  the  baneful  seeds  of  national  existence  is  a  policy 
that  degrades  labor." 

This  bill,  introduced  by  Mr.  Grow  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Con- 
gress, was  reported  on  March  6,  i860,  by  Mr.  Lovejoy,  of  Illi- 
nois, from  the  Committee  on  Public  L,ands,  and  on  March  12, 
i860,  it  passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  119  yeas  to  95  nays,  but 
was  rejected  bv  the  Senate  and  a  substitute  offered  by  Mr.  John- 
son, of  Tennessee,  granting  homesteads  to  actual  settlers  at  25 
cents  per  acre,  but  unlike  ^Ir.  Grow'.S  bill,  not  including  pre- 
emptions b)-  those  then  occupying  public  lands.  This  substi- 
tute was  in  turn  rejected  by  the  House,  but  after  long  confer- 
ences an   agreement  was   arrived  at  and   the   Senate   bill,  with 


16  Addresses  delk'cred  on  the  Preseiifation  of  the 

slight  amendments,  accepted.  Air.  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  reported 
it  and  it  passed  both  Honses,  but  was  promptly  vetoed  by  Presi- 
dent Buchanan. 

During  all  these  years  of  agitation  in  Congress  Mr.  Grow 
was  rightly  regarded  as  the  champion  of  the  homestead-law 
principle,  and  to  his  untiring  energy  more  than  to  any  other 
individual  effort  is  due  the  final  success  of  the  measure. 

On  July  4,  1861,  at  an  extra  session  of  the  Thirty-seventh 
Congress,  Galusha  A.  Grow  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House, 
and  while  filling  that  exalted  position  had  the  felicity  and 
gratification  of  affixing  his  name  as  Speaker  to  Mr.  Aldrich's 
homestead  bill,  which  was  nearly  identical  with  that  introduced 
by  himself  in  the  preceding  Congress. 

As  before  said,  much  of  the  credit  of  that  great  and  impor- 
tant measure  so  conducive  to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  our 
country,  is  due  to  our  illustrious  fellow-citizen,  the  presenta- 
tion of  whose  portrait  to  this  House  by  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  is  the  cause  of  this  special  gathering  to-day. 

While  I  believe  all  Pennsylvanians  are  proud  of  the  Con- 
gressional career  of  Mr.  Grow  and  his  record  as  Speaker  of  the 
House,  I  feel  to  an  extraordinary  degree  the  honor  and  privi- 
lege of  this  opportunity  to  pay  a  deserved  tribute  to  the  ability 
and  tact  with  which  he  filled  the  Speaker's  chair  during  the 
turbulent  and  exciting  days  from  1861  to  1863. 

It  required  ability  and  courage  of  the  very  highest  order  to 
preside  over  the  deliberations  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
at  a  time  when  the  nation  was  assaulted  from  within  and 
threatened  from  without;  when  the  greatest  war  of  the  century, 
threatening  the  very  life  of  the  Republic,  was  in  progress,  and 
the  political  passions  of  men  aroused  as  never  before  since  the 
formation   of  the   Government;  when  millions    of    men   were 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  17 

mustered  and  equipped  for  service  in  the  field,  and  thousands 
oi"  millions  of  treasure  raised  to  carry  on  the  war  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union. 

How  well  Mr.  Grow  filled  the  chair  during  these  years  of 
unparalleled  excitement  and  strife  is  best  evidenced  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  thanks  given  him  by  the  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  at  the  close  of  his  term. 

As  a  citizen  of  the  same  State  and  county,  and  representing  a 
constituency  that  largely  helped  to  elect  him  in  the  days  long 
gone  by,  I  feel  more  than  a  passing  joy  at  thus  beholding  the 
great  honor  once  conferred  on  him  perpetuated  by  the  placing 
of  this  excellent  portrait  among  those  of  the  other  illustrious 
men  who  have  occupied  the  Speaker's  chair  during  the  first 
century  of  this  great  Republic.     [Applause.] 


ADDRESS  OF  Mr.  MCALEER,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  Speaker:  The  relation  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to 
the  past  history  of  the  House  of  Representatives  has  been  dis- 
tinguished and  almost  unique.  At  no  time  has  she  failed  to 
have  within  these  halls  one  or  more  Representatives  of  con- 
spicuous ability  and  marked  force  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
body.  In  the  Continental  Congress  the  names  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  and  Robert  Morris  were  alone  sufficient  to  make  their 
State  famous.  The  Speaker  of  the  First  Federal  Congress, 
Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg,  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  distinguished 
for  lofty  character,  patriotism,  learning,  zeal,  and  efficiency  in 
the  public  service.  Since  then  a  long  list  of  great  names  has 
preser\'ed  the  prominence  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Penn  ia 
H.  Mis.  141 2 


1 8  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentatioti  of  the 

national  legislation.  The  name  of  David  Wilmot  is  imperish- 
ably  linked  with  the  legislative  history  that  preceded  the  rebel- 
lion, and  during  the  exciting  period  of  the  civil  war  the  con- 
fessed leader  of  the  dominant  party  on  this  floor  was  that 
robust,  practical,  dexterous,  and  forceful  genius,  the  great  com- 
moner of  his  time,  Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania. 

To-day  we  are  engaged  in  proceedings  intended  to  perma- 
nently honor  two  other  Representatives  of  this  State  whom 
former  Congresses  exalted  to  preside  over  their  deliberations — 
Galusha  a.  Grow  and  Samuel  J.  Randall.  The  former 
of  these,  who  presided  over  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress, 
ex-Speaker 'Grow,  still  lives  within  the  Commonwealth  he  so 
ably  served  a  generation  ago,  secure  in  the  honor  and  respect  of 
her  people  and  exemplifying  in  ripened  years  all  the  virtues  of 
private  life  and  all  the  cultured  dignity  of  distinguished  citi- 
zenship. It  is  the  hope  of  his  fellow-citizens  that  he  may  long 
be  spared  to  his  country  and  his  friends.  The  other  was  but 
recently  called  from  service  here  by  the  inexorable  voice  of 
death.  The  echoes  of  his  dirge  still  seem  to  linger  in  these 
halls,  so  fresh  is  the  mournful  recollection  of  his  untimely 
taking  off.  It  is  as  but  yesterday  that  Samuel  J.  Randall 
was  so  notable  a  presence,  so  potent  a  force  in  this  Chamber. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  could  not  justify  so  early  an  intrusion  on  the 
attention  of  this  body  but  for  the  fact  that  I  have  the  honor  to 
represent  the  same  constituency  that  for  fourteen  consecutive 
terms  chose  Samuel  J.  Randall  for  their  Congressman.  The 
presentation  of  his  portrait  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  would 
seem  to  demand  from  his  successor  some  tribute  to  his  eminent 
public  services  and  noble  exami^le. 

The  story  of  his  career  has  already  been  ably  told  by  his  col- 
leagues in  this  body  and  by  Senator  Quay  in  the  other  House. 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  19 

I  can  add  little  of  interest  as  to  the  main  facts  of  his  life.  Born 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  he  early  became  identified  with  its 
municipal  government  as  a  member  of  councils.  Then  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits,  it  is  quite  likely  he  did  not  at  that 
time  deliberately  contemplate  or  desire  a  career  of  exclusively 
public  activity.  There  is  nothing  in  the  record  of  his  council- 
manic  experience  to  suggest  the  singular  capacity  he  afterwards 
displayed  as  a  parliamentarian,  politician,  and  statesman. 
From  city  council  he  was  elevated  to  the  senate  of  his  State, 
and  after  one  term  of  service  he  was  elected  by  the  Third 
Congressional  district  a  Federal  Representative,  in  the  year 
1862.  The  relationship  then  formed  between  that  constituency 
and  Samuel  J.  R.\ndall  knew  no  severance  until  it  was 
broken  by  death.  Fourteen  times  was  the  public  trust  between 
Representative  and  people  renewed,  and  in  all  that  long  term  of 
continuous  service  there  never  was  an  hour  when  the  constitu- 
ency faltered,  hesitated,  doubted  in  its  allegiance  to  its  Repre- 
sentative. 

Sir,  there  must  have  been  some  peculiar  kinship  that  thus 
bound  this  people  to  their  public  servant.  What  was  it?  A 
relationship  so  honorable  and  long  continued  deserves  more 
than  passing  allusion.  It  was  not  identity  of  social  ties  or 
extraction.  Mr.  Randall  came  of  a  stock  that  was  conspic- 
uous in  the  upper  social  walks.  His  constituency  comprised 
the  plainest  of  the  "plain  people,"  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  so  often 
referred  to  as  his  trust  and  staff.  Stretching  along  the  Dela- 
ware in  a  narrow  line  through  the  oldest  part  of  Philadelphia, 
the  Third  Congressional  district  comprised,  as  it  still  comprises, 
a  people  singularly  homogeneous  and  singularly  distinct  from 
the  rest  of  the  city.  Rank  has  made  no  distinctions  among  them, 
for  there  are  few  rich  and  few  pretentious  in  their  number.     Most 


20  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

of  them  live  by  daily  toil  in  the  humblest  of  human  industries. 
The  most  arduous  trades,  stevedoring  and  shopkeeping,  employ 
the  greater  number,  and  in  trite  language,  the  Third  Congres- 
sional district  would  be  called  a  "poor  constituency." 

But,  Mr.  Speaker,  Randall  lived  and  died  a  poor  man,  too, 
and  like  him  they  were  too  rich  and  too  honest  ever  to  permit 
another  to  own  or  buy  their  judgment  or  their  vote.  Then,  too, 
they  are  a  manly  people.  They  hate  shams,  cant,  and  hypocrisy. 
Their  Representative  was  conspicuous  among  public  men  for 
candor  and  directness.  They  are  a  brave  people — strong  in 
their  convictions,  aggressive  in  opposition,  loyal  to  their  polit- 
ical faith,  and  averse  to  shift)-  compromises;  they  have  all  the 
sterling  masculine  traits  of  a  plain  people,  unseduced  by  power 
and  unenervated  by  wealth.  Mr.  Randall  was  a  model  of 
manly  courage,  physically,  morally,  intellectually,  and  polit- 
icalh'.  His  honesty  was  never  drugged  by  ambition  or  daunted 
by  numbers.  It  grew  in  intensity  and  assertiveness  when 
wealth  and  power  and  respectability  augmented  and  sheltered 
the  forces  of  corruption.  He  was  never  more  heroic  than  when 
leading  the  forlorn  hope  of  honest  government  against  the  com- 
bined allies  of  spoilsmen  and  jobbers,  placemen  and  favorites. 

The  lobby  had  no  vocation  when  Randall  was  Speaker. 
He  was  intellectually  brave.  He  never  disguised  his  convic- 
tions to  his  friends,  to  his  foes,  or  to  himself  He  might  be 
wrong,  but  he  never  could  be  misunderstood.  He  followed  the 
truth  as  his  reason  revealed  it,  regardless  of  the  consequences 
to  his  own  fortunes.  The  threat  of  a  caucus  was  as  powerless 
to  intimidate  him  as  a  bribe  was  to  tempt  him.  He  was  polit- 
ically brave.  He  was  a  Democrat  of  the  most  pronounced 
type  and  most  constant  party  loyalty.  If,  upon  economic 
principles,  he  differed  with  the  majority  of  his  party  as  to  the 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Groiv  and  Randall.  21 

practicability  of  some  legislative  measures,  he  ever  yielded  the 
most  earnest  support  to  party  candidates  and  party  causes. 
His  democracy  in  essential  matters  was  almost  a  religious 
conviction. 

While  preserving  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  respect  and 
friendship  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposing  party,  he  was  yet  their 
most  tireless,  resourceful,  and  implacable  antagonist.  Neverthe- 
less, his  opposition  was  without  bitterness.  He  was  too  large- 
minded  to  attach  resentments  to  mere  difference  of  opinion. 
For  open  foes  he  had  respect  and  admiration;  he  hated  only  a 
treacherous  friend.  For  many  years  actively  engaged  in  the 
political  contentions  in  his  State,  yet  the  kindest  and  friendliest 
relations  always  existed  between  himself  and  the  prominent 
men  of  his  party.  So  true  is  this,  that  his  most  conspicuous 
rival  for  party  supremacy — once  an  honored  and  valued  Sen- 
ator, and  still  the  foremost  leader  of  his  party  in  the  State, 
William  A.  Wallace — presented  the  name  of  Mr.  R.\nd.a.ll  to 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  of  iSSo  for  nomination 
for  the  Presidency. 

I  know  it  was  R.\ndall's  purpose,  had  he  lived,  to  have 
named  Senator  Wallace  to  the  State  convention  of  1890  as  his 
choice  for  governor  of  the  Commonwealth.  Such  amenities 
sweeten  active  political  life  and  redeem  it  from  its  most  intol- 
erable features.  Yet  his  life  was  not  entirely  free  from  some 
of  the  bitterness  that  accompanies  political  activity.  He,  too, 
had  known  the  Judas  kiss  and  felt  the  stab  in  the  back  from 
the  hand  he  had  nourished.  All  other  wrongs  he  could  forget 
and  forgive,  but  he  was  too  great  and  too  true  and  too  honest 
himself  not  to  despise  and  loathe  a  false  and  traitorous  friend. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  tried  to  suggest  some  of  the  personal 
traits  which  bound  Mr.   R.\nd.\ll  to  the  Democracy  of  the 


22  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

Third  Congressional  district.  They  are  worthy  of  note,  since 
the  attachment  they  caused  was  alike  honorable  to  him  and  to 
his  constituency. 

And,  sir,  after  all,  were  not  these  the  same  traits  that  gave 
Samuel  J.  Randall  his  national  reputation,  that  made  him  a 
trusted  adviser  in  his  party,  an  heroic  leader  in  legislative  con- 
flict, and  an  honored  presiding  officer  of  three  Congresses?  No 
man's  public  life  in  our  history  was  a  more  perfect  reflex  of  his 
private  virtues  and  personal  characteristics.  Too  often  public 
men  on  the  official  stage  act  a  part  which  does  not  disclose  their 
true  character.  It  was  not  so  with  Mr.  Rand.\ll.  The  traits 
that  endeared  him  to  his  family,  to  his  friends,  and  to  his  con- 
stituency were  the  same  traits  that  marked  him  when  he  stood 
in  the  view  of  the  nation.  He  was  real,  and  true,  and  unpre- 
tentious in  every  situation.  He  wrote  no  treatise  and  compiled 
no  memoirs ;  he  left  no  collection  of  speeches  that  will  be 
handed  down  to  the  political  student,  and  no  enactment  on  the 
statute  book  bears  his  name.  Yet  he  was  a  potential  agency  in 
legislation  that  has  seldom  been  exceeded  in  any  single  Repre- 
sentative. He  left  his  impress  upon  the  political  and  legisla- 
tive policy  of  his  time,  as  Emerson  says  the  hero  conquers — by 
his  presence.  His  force  of  character  alone,  unaided  and  unob- 
truded,  raised  him  to  the  distinction  and  power  that  he  achieved. 
I  know  of  no  finer  illustration  in  our  history  of  the  irresistible 
force  of  honesty,  integrity,  and  fidelity  united  to  the  homeliest 
capacity.  Some  such  example  was  needed,  and  is  still  needed, 
if  the  youth  of  the  land  is  not  to  be  seduced  by  the  too  frequent 
success  in  public  life  of  principles  and  methods  that  would  be 
execrated  if  they  were  not  successful. 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  difficult  in  analyzing  a  life  like  Mr.  R.a.n- 
DALL's  to  illustrate  by  many  conspicuous   incidents  the  quali- 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  23 

ties  that  exalted  him.  This  is  often  true  of  many  conspicuously 
useful  lives.  The  most  valuable  characteristics  are  not  always 
the  most  showy.  Other  speakers  at  other  times  have  recounted 
the  details  of  his  public  career.  It  is  not  my  desire  to  repeat 
that  stor\',  instructive  and  interesting  as  it  is.  I  shall  content 
myself  with  briefly  summarizing  his  most  distinguishing  public 
characteristics. 

He  was  an  undemonstrative  man  and  of  simple  habits  and 
life.  No  great  character  since  the  foundation  of  the  Republic 
lived  a  more  unostentatious,  sincere,  and  democratic  life  than  he. 

He  was  easy  of  access,  and  recognized  the  absolute  equality 
of  citizenship.  This  was  a  trait  of  his  essential  democracy. 
The  lowliest  voter  in  his  district  could  see  its  Representative 
as  freely  and  would  be  received  as  cordially  and  as  respectfully 
as  the  richest  and  most  potential. 

He  was  absolutely  sincere.  No  man  could  or  did  ever  say 
that  Randall  misled  him  or  that  he  was  disappointed  in 
Samuel  J.  Randall. 

He  was  thoroughly  honest.  It  ought  to  be  a  matter  of  no 
great  distinction  to  say  that  a  public  man  is  honest.  But  Ran- 
d.\ll's  honesty  was  of  a  kind  and  at  a  time  when  it  necessarily 
became  conspicuous  and  memorable.  It  was  as  "a  river  of 
water  in  a  dry  place,  and  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a 
weary  land."  If  when  the  Democracy  regained  power  in  this 
Chamber,  Mr.  Randall  or  a  man  like  him  for  honesty  had  not 
led  his  party,  its  return  to  power  would  have  vanished  as  a 
dream.  Will  it  be  doubted  that  when  in  1874  a  political  tidal 
wave  gave  the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  Democracy,  the 
manly  and  defiant  presence  of  Randall  held  the  forces  of  cor- 
ruption aloof?  The  champion  of  honesty  conquered  corruption 
by  his  presence. 


24  Addresses  delivered  on  ike  Presentation  of  the 

His  patriotism  was  above  party,  and  comprehended  his  coun- 
try as  the  supreme  object  of  his  aifections  and  his  labors.  I  can 
not  better  express  his  ideal  of  duty  and  devotion  than  by  quot- 
ing his  words  when,  upon  an  occasion  similar  to  this,  he  stated 
his  estimate  of  the  obligations  and  powers  of  the  Speaker  of 
this  House.  Nothing  could  be  clearer,  more  forcible,  or  more 
impressive  than  the  following  sentences: 

"When  it  fell  to  my  fortune  to  occupy  the  Speaker's  chair 
I  realized  how  true  was  my  idea  of  the  position  and  its  possi- 
bilities ;  and  I  do  not  believe  there  is  anyone  worthy  of  being 
mentioned  in  connection  with  it  who,  the  very  instant  he  takes 
it,  will  not  become  so  broad  and  generous  in  the  scope  of  his 
political  vision  as  to  act  regardless  of  individual  and  personal 
consequences,  and  only  for  the  best  interests  of  the  American 
people  as  his  judgment  shall  dictate." 

These  words  are  worth)-  of  being  graven  over  the  door  of  this 
Chamber  as  an  immutable  law  of  the  Republic.  Patriotism 
has  never  reached  a  higher  utterance.  Country  first  and  party 
after — this  was  the  creed  of  Samuel  J.  Randall.  And  how 
well  he  exemplified  it.  It  fell  to  his  lot  to  be  Speaker  of  the 
House  at  one  of  the  most  critical  stages  of  our  history.  The 
peace  of  the  nation  hung  in  the  balance.  The  Presidency  was 
at  stake,  and  the  party  of  Mr.  Randall  unanimously  believed 
that  Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  of  right  entitled  to  the  office. 
Mr.  Randall,  too,  believed  it  most  profoundly.  But  in  the 
Speaker's  chair  he  felt  he  owed  to  the  laws  and  to  the  safety  of 
the  Republic  a  duty  paraniount  to  any  mere  party  obligation. 
Therefore  it  was  that  with  face  steadfastly  set  toward  the  public 
weal  he  bent  all  the  power  of  his  office  toward  a  peaceful  and 
legal  settlement  of  the  controversy.  One  look,  one  word  of 
dovibt  from  him  would  have  precipitated  a  conflict  that  would 
have  wrapped  the  land  in  sorrow,  bloodshed,  and  anarchy.  The 
nation  owes  him  an  inestimable  debt  of  gratitude  that  he  then 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  25 

held  the  inflammable  elements  of  party  in  check  and  saved  the 
Union  of  States  though  his  party  lost  the  Presidency. 

Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renowned  than  war. 

He  was  courageous.  Who  that  saw  Samuel  J.  Randall 
then  presiding  over  the  smoldering  passions  of  party  could 
doubt  his  courage.  A  weak  and  timid  man  in  his  place  would 
have  been  the  ruin  of  his  country.  A  partisan  or  a  coward 
would  have  betrayed  constitutional  government. 

He  was  capable,  instructed,  and  tireless  in  the  public  service. 
Need  I  recall  the  memorable  struggle  over  the  "force  bill?" 
The  leader  of  a  minority  threatened  with  a  measure  that  meant 
political  destruction  to  his  party,  he  so  led  his  forces  that  he 
averted  that  result,  and  thus  made  possible  every  Democratic 
victorv  since.  What  an  enviable  fate  was  his  to  save  by  peace- 
ful measures  and  by  personal  efforts,  first  his  party,  then  his 
country ! 

Mr.  Speaker,  is  his  portrait  not  worthy  to  hang  in  these 
halls?  May  not  every  American,  every  lover  of  free  institu- 
tions, every  admirer  of  honesty,  sincerity,  and  manhood,  do  him 
reverence  ?  The  people  of  the  Third  Congressional  district  are 
proud  of  the  honor  they  enjoy  in  having  contributed  S.\muel 
J.  Randall  to  the  nation.  ]\Iay  the  people  of  the  entire 
country,  may  the  Congress  of  the  States,  ever  bear  in  grateful 
recollection  his  ser^'ices,  his  life,  and  his  name.  May  the  youth 
of  the  Republic  never  cease  to  emulate  his  achievements,  his 
principles,  and  his  character.  His  memory  will  endure  so  long 
as  the  love  of  patriotism,  purity,  and  public  virtue  shall  en- 
dure.    [Applause.  ] 


26  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 


ADDRESS  OF  Mr.  BROSIUS,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  could  not,  if  I  would,  add  anything  but  my 
cordial  approval  to  what  has  been  so  fitly  and  gracefully  said 
of  the  distinguished  Pennsylvanians  whose  features,  durably 
preserved  on  canvas,  will  hereafter  occupy  conspicuous  places 
in  the  tapestrj'  of  faces  that  will  adorn  the  walls  of  the  House. 
Nor  can  I,  by  placing  upon  the  canvas  of  this  occasion  another 
figure,  in  any  degree  mar  the  pictures  already  there,  nor  dim 
the  laurels  that  so  fitly  wreathe  their  brows. 

But  it  has  seemed  to  the  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania  in 
this  House  that  this  notable  occasion  would  lack  completeness 
if  some  allusion  was  not  made  to  another  distinguished  Penn- 
sylvanian  who  rose  to  equal  eminence  with  those  whose  por- 
traits have  just  been  presented  to  the  House.  I  have  risen, 
therefore,  at  the  suggestion  of  my  colleagues,  to  perform  in  a 
feeble  way  the  duty  which  they  think  the  occasion  imposes,  to 
bring  into  more  distinct  view  than  heretofore  and  place  upon 
record  some  observations  on  the  character  and  public  services 
of  the  first  Pennsylvanian  who  presided  over  the  deliberations 
of  this  first  body. 

The  Speaker  of  the  first  House  of  Representatives  under  the 
Constitution,  Frederick  Augustus  Muhlenberg,  was  born  in 
Montgomery  County,  Pa.,  on  January  i,  A.  X>-  1750.  He  died 
in  the  city  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  on  the  4th  day  of  June,  A.  D. 
1811. 

He  came  from  a  distinguished  family  of  German  Lutherans, 
a  family  which  has  filled  with  great  credit  many  positions  of 
eminence  and  honor  both  in  church  and  state,  five  of  whom 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  'Ti 

have  been  members  of  this  House,  a  family  of  scholars,  divines, 
and  statesmen,  whose  acheivements  include  the  honors  of  learn- 
ing, ecclesiastical  distinction,  and  civic  renown. 

His  father  was  the  founder  and  patriarch  of  the  German 
Lutheran  Church  in  America,  and  enjoyed  a  deserved  preemi- 
nence in  learning  and  piety. 

His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  good  Father  Conrad  Weiser, 
who  became  the  pioneer  of  the  Germans  in  the  settlement  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  through  whom  he  is  said  to  have  derived  a 
strain  of  aboriginal  blood,  and  he  did  not  quite  conceal  how 
proud  he  was  of  that  drop  of  native  American  blood,  which  was 
perhaps  the  only  one  that  has  figured  in  the  parliamentary  his- 
tory of  the  country. 

Born  of  pious  parents,  he  was  in  his  youth  dedicated  to  the 
church;  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Halle  and  ordained 
as  a  minister  in  the  year  1770.  His  employment  in  the  minis- 
try was  of  short  duration.  The  time  that  was  to  try  men's 
souls  was  at  hand.  His  firm  attachment  to  the  American  cause 
inclined  him  to  more  active  exertions  in  its  support. 

It  was  thought  by  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania  that  they 
ought  to  have  in  the  Continental  Congress  a  representative  of 
their  particular  interest.  Mr.  Muhlenberg's  ardent  patriotism 
and  liberal  acquirements  fitted  him  in  an  exceptional  degree  for 
such  a  station,  and  he  was  elected  a  member  of  that  body  in 
March,  1779.  He  served,  however,  for  a  single  year,  when  he 
was  transferred  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  the  speaker  of  that  body  in  the  years  i78i-'82.  He  was 
also  a  member  ot  the  council  of  censors  of  Pennsylvania  in 
i783-'84  and  presided  over  that  body. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  county  of  Montgomery  he  was 
■commissioned  as  a  justice  of  the  court,  register  of  wills,   and 


28  Addresses  delivered  07i  the  Presentation  of  the 

recorder  of  deeds.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Pennsylvania  con- 
vention to  ratify  the  Federal  Constitution  in  1787,  and  presided 
over  that  body.  At  the  first  election  for  members  of  Congress 
under  the  Constitution  he  was  a  candidate  on  the  anti-Federal 
ticket  and  was  elected.  On  the  organization  of  the  House  on 
the  1st  day  of  April,  1789,  he  was  elected  to  preside  over  its 
deliberations.  He  had  a  recognized  genius  for  presiding.  He 
remained  in  Congress  four  consecutive  terms,  and  was  reelected 
Speaker  of  the  Third  Congress. 

It  is  recorded  that  when  he  was  nominated  for  the  Third  Con- 
gress the  address  to  the  people  contained  these  words: 

"The  contest  by  which  he  was  placed  in  a  situation  to  be 
Speaker  of  the  first  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  will 
be  commemorated  for  the  honor  of  America  as  long  as  the 
Union  lasts;  and  for  Mr.  Muhlenberg's  honor  the  conduct 
which  he  observed  in  that  arduous  and  important  oflSce  ought 
never  to  be  forgotten. ' ' 

At  the  close  of  each  Congress  over  which  he  presided  he 
received  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  for  the  ability  and  cour- 
tesy with  which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office,  to  which 
he  replied  in  a  few  remarks  of  rare  grace  and  felicity,  which 
seemed  to  have  set  the  fashion  for  a  hundred  years. 

To  intense  patriotism  Mr.  Muhlenberg  added  a  rare  ampli- 
tude of  understanding,  a  wide  experience,  a  firm  will,  and  great 
courage.  To  say  that  he  possessed  iu  a  high  degree  that 
quickness  and  clearness  of  intellectual  perception,  that  power  of 
swift  and  accurate  generalization,  the  capacity  to  comprehend 
by  a  lightning  flash  not  only  the  nearest  link,  but  the  entire 
chain  of  a  difficult  situation,  or  that  he  possessed  that  facility 
for  lucid  statement  which  could  make  a  proposition,  however 
intricate,  as  clear  to  others  as  to  himself,  qualities  which  have 
given  us  in  recent  years  some  masterful  speakers,,  would  not  be 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Groic  and  Kandatl.  29 

justified  by  any  information  that  we  possess.  But  the  assem- 
blage of  qualities  which  he  is  known  to  have  possessed  could 
not  fail  to  qualify  him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  the  Speaker's 
chair  at  the  time  he  occupied  it.  There  is  no  record  extant 
that  raises  any  doubt  that  he  filled  that  most  difficult  of  posi- 
tions under  our  Government  with  distinguished  ability,  con- 
spicuous courtesy,  and  entire  impartiality. 

True,  the  House  at  that  time  consisted  of  but  sixty-five 
members,  a  small  assembly  compared  with  the  present  House, 
and  much  easier  controlled.  Disorder  and  tumult  had  not  then 
been  invited  by  an  unwieldy  multitude.  The  first  House  was 
never  suffocated  in  its  own  smoke.  Dignity  and  decorum  were 
among  its  conspicuous  characteristics.  It  was  the  initial  period 
in  our  legislative  history.  It  was  the  point  of  embarkation  on 
our  new  voyage,  in  our  new  ship.  Buoys  could  not  be  followed. 
New  channels  must  needs  be  marked  out.  The  strength  of  the 
noble  ship  would  hardly  have  saved  it  from  destruction  but  for 
the  skill  and  wisdom  of  such  trusty  pilots  as  Speaker  Muhlen- 
berg and  his  contemporaries,  whose  experience,  knowledge,  and 
foresight  were  important  agencies  in  the  organization  of  the 
new  Government. 

Mr.  Muhlenberg  carried  with  him  to  every  field  of  his  coun- 
try's service  that  heroic  spirit  which  was  a  notable  characteris- 
tic of  his  family,  which  animated  his  distinguished  brother 
when,  standing  in  his  pulpit  the  last  time  in  full  military 
uniform,  poorly  concealed  by  the  symbol  of  his  holy  office, 
thrown  carelessly  over  him,  he  uttered  those  memorable  words, 
"There  is  a  time  for  all  things — a  time  to  preach,  a  time  to 
pray,  and  there  is  a  time  to  fight,  and  that  time  has  come." 
As  his  brother  put  conscience  into  his  fighting,  so  did  he  put 
conscience  into  every  public  undertaking. 


30  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

Devotion  to  duty,  fidelity  to  conviction,  loyalty  to  conscience, 
the  elevation  of  public  obligations  above  private  interests,  and 
the  subjection  of  conduct  in  all  situations  to  the  restraints  of 
moral  principle,  gems  of  character  fit  for  a  setting  in  the 
"wrought  gold"  of  the  deep  moral  basis  of  his  life,  were  the 
attributes  which  enabled  the  first  Speaker  of  the  American 
House  of  Representatives  to  adorn  with  distinguished  probity 
every  situation  to  which  he  was  ever  called. 

The  dignity  of  his  character,  the  elevation  of  his  mind,  and 
his  unflinching  will  united  in  summing  up  a  strong  person- 
ality which  left  its  impress  with  great  distinctness  upon  his 
country,  and  are  elements  which  can  not  be  overlooked  in  assign- 
ing him  appropriate  rank  among  the  stars  of  nobleness  that 
glitter  on  Pennsylvania's  fair  brow. 

It  is  the  singular  felicity  of  that  State  to  have  furnished  the 
first  of  that  succession  of  illustrious  statesmen  who  have  pre- 
sided over  the  deliberations  of  this  body  for  a  hundred  years, 
illustrating  the  principles  of  American  parliamentary  law,  and 
shedding  conspicuous  luster  on  the  historj^  of  parliamentary 
leadership  in  the  New  World.  But  the  memory  of  Mr.  Muhlen- 
berg's great  character,  his  shining  virtues,  his  useful  public 
services,  is  the  exclusive  possession  of  no  district.  It  is  the 
Commonwealth's,  the  nation's.  It  is  a  part  of  that  immortal 
heritage  of  glory  that  has  descended  from  illustrious  sires  upon 
their  sons,  that  they,  like  Hector's  boy,  might  catch  heroic  fire 
from  the  recollection  of  the  great  and  good  men  of  the  past 
who  earned  and  enjoyed  the  just  applause  of  having  deserved 
well  of  their  country. 

And  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  as  we  gaze  upon  these  distinguished 
faces,  radiant  with  the  great  qualities  which  were  exemplified 
in  their  public  careers,  speaking  pictures  which  seem  as  if  the 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  /\ai/da//.  31 

painter,  after  putting  upon  them  the  last  touch  of  his  art,  had 
breathed  into  them  the  breath  of  life  ;  let  me  express  the  prayer 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  every  other  State  will  joyfully  unite, 
that  that  seat  of  eminence,  that  Olympian  chair  which  has  been 
filled  by  illustrious  statesmen,  will  never  be  compromised  by  an 
occupant  who  will  dim  the  splendor  of  our  parliamentary  suc- 
cession.    [Applause.] 


Address  of  Mr,  Henderson,  of  Iowa. 

Mr.  Speaker  :  On  the  29th  of  April,  1891,  the  governor  of 
Pennsvlvania  approved  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  presentation 
of  the  portraits  of  Samuel  J.  Randall  and  Galusha  A.  Grow 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  Congress 
and  making  an  appropriation  for  the  painting  of  the  same." 

In  pursuance  of  that  act  of  the  great  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  paintings  have  been  finished  and  this  day 
tendered  to  the  House  of  Representatives  for  its  acceptance. 

A  resohition  accepting  the  same  has  been  offered  and  ably 
supported  by  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  [Mr.  Holman],  and 
I  find  sincere  pleasure  in  seconding  that  resolution. 

Every  member  of  this  House  will,  I  am  sure,  cordially  sup- 
port the  resolution.  All  will  welcome  the  faces  of  these  dis- 
tinguished public  servants  to  the  gallery  where  may  be  seen 
the  men  who  have  presided  over  the  United  States  House  of 
Representatives. 

By  this  act  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  a  high  honor  is 
conferred  upon  this  body,  and  by  that  act  Pennsylvania  does 
but  justice  to  herself 

These  great  men  by  their  private  and  public  lives  won  hon- 


32  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

ors  for  their  country  and  their  State.  Their  country  and  State 
will  to-day  unite  in  bearing  witness  to  the  merits  of  these  true 
sons  of  Pennsylvania — sons  of  the  Republic. 

Galusha  a.  Grow  was  born  at  Ashford,  Windham  County, 
Conn.,  August  31,  1823,  and  still  lives  to  enjoy  the  respect  of 
his  countrymen. 

I  believe  that  he  is  of  Puritan  extraction,  and  is  a  pure 
extract  of  that  historic  stock.  At  ten  years  of  age  his  mother 
with  her  six  children  moved  to  Pennsylvania,  his  father  having 
died  when  he  was  three  years  of  age. 

At  twenty-one  years  of  age  we  find  him  graduated  at  Amherst 
College,  and  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1847.  ^^^^  this  good 
work,  accomplished  while  yet  so  young,  left  him  with  impaired 
health.  Seeking  to  recover  his  health  he  engaged  in  surveying 
wild  lands  and  occasionally  in  rafting. 

In  these  pursuits  he  rapidly  gathered  a  knowledge  of  men, 
an  insight  into  character,  a  keen  knowledge  of  and  sympathy 
for  the  poor  and  the  workers,  and  these  vigorous,  manly  pur- 
suits quickly  restored  him  to  health  and  equipped  him  with 
the  vigor  so  soon  to  be  needed  in  a  great  public  career  during 
the  most  trying  period  of  his  country's  life. 

In  1850  he  was  elected  to  the  Thirty-second  Congress  from 
,the  old  Fourteenth  Congressional  district  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  successively  reelected  to  the  Thirty-third,  Thirty-fourth, 
Thirty-fifth,  Thirty-sixth,  and  Thirty-seventh  Congresses. 
During  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  he  was  Speaker  of  this 
House.  In  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress  he  was  the  Republican 
nominee  for  Speaker  when  James  L.  Orr,  of  South  Carolina, 
was  elected.  He  particularly  distinguished  himself  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  on  Territories,  of  which  committee  he 
was  chairman,  in  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress. 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  33 

It  will  be  remembered  that  during  this  period  there  was  an 
unyielding  struggle  between  those  who  believed  in  free  and 
those  who  believed  in  slave  territory.  The  Committee  on  Ter- 
ritories was  the  great  committee  of  power  on  this  vital  ques- 
tion, a  question  deeply  underlying  the  great  rebellion. 

In  the  desperate  struggle  before  the  war  to  push  slavery  into 
free  territory  Galusha  A.  Grow  took  a  leading  part  and  proved 
himself  to  be  a  far-seeing,  broad-minded  statesman,  an  able 
debater,  and  an  uncompromising,  true,  warm-hearted  friend  of 
humanity  and  freedom. 

A  close  student  of  history  thus  speaks  of  Mr.  Grow's  rela- 
tion to  that  period  and  to  the  period  itself : 

"This  period  of  Mr.  Grow's  service,  from  1851  to  1863,  was  one 
full  of  excitement  and  peril  both  to  individuals  and  the  coun- 
try, and  exacted  of  its  principal  free-soil  actors,  in  efforts  to  hon- 
esth'  and  independently  perform  their  constitutional  duties,  the 
highest  moral  and  physical  courage.  The  pro-slavery  leaders 
were  arrogant,  defiant,  and  aggressive.  Their  great  ambition 
was  to  dominate  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  to  subordinate 
all  the  power  of  the  Government  and  'freedom,  free  speech, 
and  free  men '  in  the  maintenance  of  a  tyrannical  and  demoral- 
izing rule;  to  seize  on  our  virgin  Territories,  to  degrade  them 
into  slave  communities,  and  to  violently  stamp  out,  in  blood,  all 
opposition  to  their  arbitrary  and  unlawful  edicts.  Thvis  Kansas 
by  the  'border  ruffians,'  supported  by  all  the  powers,  military 
and  civil,  of  the  National  Government,  was  degraded  into  an 
Aceldama— a  field  of  blood;  and  even  principal  cities  were 
dragooned  into  pursuit  of  hapless  fugitive  slaves." 

The  spirit  that  dominated  the  slave  power  in  "  bleeding  Kan- 
sas" was  as  surely  on  the  alert  at  the  national  capital.  A  Sen- 
ator was  murderously  assailed  in  his  seat  and  "  the  code  "  was 
flourished  in  the  faces  of  free-soil  members.  These  times  must 
be  recalled  and  understood  in  order  to  comprehend  the  charac- 
ter and  services  of  Galusha  A.  Grow. 
H.  Mis.  141 3 


34  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

Amid  all  these  trying  scenes  and  events  he  was  calm,  inde- 
pendent, fearless,  and  resolutely,  coolly  fought  the  battle  of 
freedom  on  this  floor.  No  danger  or  threat  drove  him  from  the 
performance  of  his  constitutional  duties.  Hesitation  in  the 
face  of  duty  and  danger  was  no  part  of  the  character  of  this 
calm,  iron-made  man. 

To  measure  character  take  it  not  in  life's  sunshine,  but  when 
the  clouds  and  storms  of  life  envelop  it  in  trials,  and  in  sorrows. 
This  test  applied  to  Mr.  Grow  marks  him  as  one  of  the  calm, 
heroic  characters  in  our  country's  history. 

THE    FATHER   OF    FREE    HOMES. 

Mr.  Grow  has  also  heavy  claims  upon  the  gratitude  of  the 
people  of  this  country'  for  having  been  the  father  of  free  homes. 

In  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress,  on  January  4, 
1858,  he  introduced  his  famous  bill  "  to  secure  homesteads  to 
actual  settlers  on  the  public  domain."  His  maiden  speech  in 
Congress  was  made  on  this  question  m  May,  1852. 

Although  it  failed  at  that  session  it  became  the  law  of  the 
land  in  1863,  and  brought  blessings  that  can  not  be  estimated 
to  toiling  millions  of  his  countrymen. 

It  was  Mr.  Grow's  bill  that  became  the  homestead  law,  and 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  signing  it  as  Speaker. 

But  while  the  champion  of  the  actual  home-seeker  he  was 
the  tireless  enemy  of  the  ' '  land-grabber, ' '  and  was  ever  on  the 
alert  to  keep  the  public  domain  from  passing  into  the  hands  of 
"syndicates"  and  "laud  barons,"  and  during  the  Thirty-fifth 
Congress  he  made  repeated  though  fruitless  eflforts  to  secure 
legislation  to  keep  that  class  from  feeding  and  fattening  on 
the  public  lands. 

On  all  great  questions  he  was  brave  and  outspoken  and  made 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grozv  and  Randall.  35 

a  record  showing  great  scope  of  intelligence  and  never-halting 
patriotism. 

He  was  for  "free  speech,  free  soil,  and  free  men  ;"  he  was  for 
protection  and  against  free  trade.  On  the  admission  of  Oregon, 
on  Lecompton  and  the  English  bill,  and  on  the  Crittenden- 
Montgomery  compromise,  on  the  proposition  to  appropriate 
millions  for  the  purchase  of  Cuba,  and  on  all  great  public 
questions  he  demonstrated  his  high  character,  his  broad  states- 
manship, his  devotion  to  his  country,  and  his  tender  love  for 
humanity.  As  speaker  of  this  House  he  was  fair,  firm,  and 
fearless,  showing  a  keen  regard  for  the  laws  of  this  country, 
the  laws  of  this  body,  and  the  higher  law  which  touches  every 
heart  from  the  divine  source  of  all  law. 

SAMUEL  J.    RANDALL. 

In  speaking  of  S.\MUEL  J.  Randall  I  feel  as  if  speaking  of 
one  who  is  yet  a  part  of  us.  The  rapid  step,  the  tireless  energy, 
the  cordial  hand,  the  cheerful  voice,  and  the  friendly  face  are 
yet  with  us,  and  it  is  hard  and  unnatural  to  speak  of  him  as 
being  no  longer  here. 

But  the  proceedings  had  in  this  House  on  April  14,  1890,  and 
in  the  Senate  on  September  13,  1890,  bear  sad  and  eloquent 
evidence  that  this  great  sou  of  Pennsylvania  is  dead. 

When  he  fell  who  was  left  that  could  wear  his  mantle  ? 

When  he  fell  this  country  was  startled  and  pained,  knowing 
that  it  had  lost  a  leader  of  such  strong  composite  powers  that 
the  vacancy  could  not  easily  be  filled. 

He  died  April  13,  1890,  at  his  post  of  duty,  in  the  vigor  of 
manhood,  being  but  sixty-one  years  six  months  and  three  days 
old. 

On  both  his  father's  and  mother's  side  he  came  of  stock  that 
had  been   trusted  by  the  people,   and  Mr.  Rand.\ll  was  the 


36  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Prcsentatioti  of  the 

improved  product  of  that  stock,  and  from  early  manhood  com- 
manded confidence  among  men  and  assumed  leadership  as  his 
birthright.     I  say,  assumed  leadership;   I  should  say  accepted. 

He  was  liberally  educated,  but  had  no  ambition  for  a  learned 
profession. 

It  has  been  said  "that  he  was  not  a  student."  I  do  not 
agree  to  this.  I  knew  him  well  and  pronounce  him  an  ardent 
student — an  untiring  student. 

Preachers  are  found  outside  of  pulpits  and  churches.  Teach- 
ers there  are  who  never  saw  college  or  university.  Students 
there  are  of  governments,  of  heart-beats,  and  of  human  actions 
who  never  read  the  classics,  held  diploma,  or  dreamed  of  alma 
mater. 

To  this  class  Mr.  R.\ndall  belonged,  and  with  restless,  tire- 
less mind  he  studied  the  great  lessons  of  life  and  of  government. 

Serving  for  years  with  him  on  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions, I  always  found  him  armed  with  that  knowledge  that 
comes  from  hard  work  and  careful  study.  Whatever  was 
assigned  to  him  to  do  was  done — done  well,  and  no  needed 
preparation  was  ever  neglected. 

Whatever  presented  itself  to  be  done  by  him  was  met  more 
than  halfway.  He  knew  his  duty  b\-  instinct,  and  was  oiily 
happy  when  doing  it  and  doing  it  well.  He  was  called  early 
into  active  public  life,  and  grew  stronger  at  every  step. 

His  country  in  danger,  and  we  find  him  in  the  ranks  as  a 
volunteer  private  soldier,  May  13,  1861.  His  fighting  qualities 
quickly  advanced  him. 

While  fighting  under  Col.  George  H.  Thomas  his  keen  insight 
into  character  quickly  detected  the  genius  of  Thomas,  and  we 
see  him  writing  on  a  drumhead  an  earnest  appeal  that  Col. 
Thomas  be  made  a  general.     The  splendid  career  of  this  ofiicer 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  37 

attested  the  keen  insight  and  sweep  of  vision  of  Mr.  Randall 
as  a  student  of  character. 

He  was  sent  to  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress  and  served  for 
twenty-eight  years  consecutively. 

This  House  was  his  school,  this  country  his  university.  Few 
ranked  above  him  in  his  class. 

A  true  economist  was  Samuel  J.  Randall.  He  did  not 
neglect  any  party  advantage,  but  was  slow  to  gain  such  advan- 
tage by  crippling  or  starving  liis  country.  As  Speaker  he  was 
clear,  and  firmer  than  clear.  He  was  kind,  but  quick.  In  the 
chair  and  in  debate  he  often  won  by  rapidity  of  thought  and 
action. 

Let  me  give  his  own  idea  of  the  Speakership  and  in  his  own 
words.  He  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  highest  honors  that  could 
be  conferred  upon  an  American  citizen,  and  spoke  of  it  as  an 
office  giving  opportunity  "to  impress  upon  our  history  and  leg- 
islation the  stamp  of  truth,  fairness,  justice,  and  right." 

Few  portraits  of  ex-Speakers  of  this  House  will  be  hung  in 
yonder  gallery  that  will  attract  and  hold  more  of  our  people  or 
command  more  of  their  affection  and  respect.  As  a  friend  he 
was  as  true  and  open  as  he  was  when  a  foe.  Like  all  strong, 
intense  natures,  he  loved  and  hated  cordially  ;  but,  like  all 
truly  great  men,  his  loves  predominated. 

Once  brought  within  the  circle  of  his  friendship,  few  could 
escape  or  ever  wished  to. 

He  was  respectful  to  those  in  office,  but  more  so  to  the 
simple  citizen,  untutored  in  the  conventionalities  of  life,  who 
approached  him  for  aid  or  counsel.  His  respect  for,  and  kind, 
gentle  treatment  of,  the  poor  was  the  crowning  glory  of  his  life 
as  a  public  man.  The  call  or  correspondence  of  the  humblest 
citizen  always  met  with  the  prompt  and  respectful  attention 
due  from  the  servant  to  the  sovereign  in  the  Republic. 


38  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

A    STRONG    DEBATER. 

Mr.  Randall  was  a  great  power  in  debate,  made  all  the 
more  so  because  a  thorough  student  in  public  affairs,  gifted 
with  a  strong  memory,  quick  of  thought,  and  destitute  of  fear. 

He  loved  his  country  and  made  the  interests  of  all  other 
nations  secondary  to  those  of  the  land  of  his  birth. 

Neither  foreign  blandishments,  foreign  sophistries,  nor  for- 
eign gold  could  tempt  him. 

He  was  true  to  labor  and  all  home  sources  from  which  labor 
drew  its  food  and  its  supplies.  It  can  be  truly  said  that  "he 
was  a  tribune  of  the  people." 

He  was  honest,  as  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  after  being  in 
the  public  service  as  private,  sergeant,  captain,  provost-mar- 
shal. State  senator,  and  member  of  Congress  for  nearly  thirty- 
five  years,  and  living  modesth'  and  economically,  he  died  poor 
in  pocket,  though  rich,  very  rich,  in  the  love  of  his  home,  his 
State,  and  his  country. 


Address  of  Mr.  Holman,  of  Indiana, 

Mr.  Speaker:  The  State  of  Pennsylvania,  through  a  com- 
mittee of  her  citizens,  appointed  for  that  purpose,  now  present, 
by  invitation  of  the  House,  in  this  Hall,  presents  to  the  national 
House  of  Representatives  the  portraits  of  Galusha  A.  Grow 
and  Samuel  J.  Randall,  former  Speakers  of  the  House,  and 
gentlemen  now  representing  in  Congress  districts  formerly  rep- 
resented by  those  eminent  citizens  and  other  gentlemen  from 
that  State  have,  in  touching  and  eloquent  words,  spoken  of 
their  public  services  and  submitted  to  the  Hoiise  the  wishes  of 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grozv  and  Randall.  39 

their  great  Commonwealth  that  the  House  shall  accept  these 
portraits. 

I  rise,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  move  that  the  House  accept  these  por- 
traits so  gracefully  presented  by  Pennsylvania,  to  become  a  part 
of  the  galaxy  of  portraits  of  illustrious  men  who  have  in  the 
past  presided  over  the  national  House  of  Representatives  and 
of  those  who  will  in  the  coming  ages  fill  that  high  post  of 
honor — a  galaxy  that  will  be  of  ever-increasing  interest,  not 
only  to  those  who  will  in  the  future  occupy  seats  in  this  Hall, 
but  to  all  the  American  people. 

The  legend  "  Republics  are  ungrateful  "  can  not  be  applied 
to  our  Republic.  The  sentiment  of  public  duty  and  honor  has 
from  the  beginning  been  fortified  and  upheld  by  the  generous 
applause  which  has  followed  the  faithful  fulfillment  of  a  public 
trust.  See  in  the  halls  of  this  Capitol  how  the  States  of  the 
Union  vie  with  each  other  in  honoring  the  memory  of  their 
sons  who  have  rendered  valuable  service  to  their  country! 

Galusha  a.  Grow  was  Speaker  of  the  House  during  the 
Thirty-seventh  Congress;  Samuel  J.  Randall,  during  the 
second  session  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress  and  during  the 
Forty-fifth  and  Forty-sixth  Congresses.  The  period  of  time 
between  the  4th  day  of  July,  i86i,  when  Mr.  Grow  was  elected 
Speaker,  and  the  4th  day  of  March,  1877,  when  Mr.  Randall 
completed  his  first  term  as  Speaker,  embraced  and  involved 
events  of  such  magnitude  as  to  be  without  comparison  with  any 
other  period  in  our  history  except  that  in  which  our  Republic 
was  formed,  perhaps  of  greater  importance,  for  in  that  period 
the  final  appeal  to  arms  and  the  statesmanship  that  followed 
determined  the  question  of  African  slavery  which  the  cupidity 
of  Europe  had  fastened  upon  us,  a  question  which  the  wisdom 
and  patriotism  of  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  could  not  solve, 


40  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

which  statesmanship,  with  fear  and  trembling,  could  only  from 
the  time  the  Government  was  formed  hold  in  abeyance.  If 
the  beneficent  results  to  mankind  which  the  influence  and 
example  of  this  great  Republic  seem  to  assure  shall  be  realized, 
the  events  of  that  period  will  stand  in  history  in  importance 
without  comparison  with  any  other  in  the  current  history  of 
the  world. 

At  12  o'clock  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1861,  in  response  to 
the  proclamation  of  President  L,incoln,  Congress  assembled. 
This  city  was  a  military  camp.  The  hurried  movement  of 
armed  men,  the  ceaseless  notes  of  the  war  drum,  all  told  the 
sad  story,  ' '  war  is  upon  us. ' '  The  basement  of  this  Capitol 
was  a  depot  of  military  supplies  and  the  whole  landscape  was  a 
tented  field. 

Entering  this  Hall  at  noon  on  that  4th  day  of  July,  1861,  was 
an  event  long  to  be  remembered.  The  galleries  were  packed 
with  an  anxious  and  excited  multitude,  but,  alas,  on  this  floor 
how  many  seats  were  vacant !  Even  the  old  statesmen  who 
had  long  ser^'ed  in  this  House  and  were  devoted  to  the  Union, 
who  passed  down  this  aisle  a  few  months  before  and  passed  up 
to  the  Speaker  notice  that  they  had  resigned  their  seats  in  the 
Thirty-sixth  Congress,  and  left  this  Hall  with  bowed  heads 
and  cheeks  bathed  with  tears,  were  not  here. 

Yet  it  was  a  remarkable  and  memorable  assemblage.  Most 
of  those  present  were  comparatively  new  members,  but  some  of 
the  greatest  men  of  our  country  were  present.  Here  in  this 
seat  now  occupied  by  my  distinguished  colleague  [Mr.  Brown] 
sat  John  J.  Crittenden,  grave  and  silent;  there,  on  the  first  aisle 
to  the  left,  sat  Charles  A.  Wickliffe,  of  Kentucky;  yonder,  on 
the  second  aisle  on  the  right,  Thaddeus  Stevens,  his  strong  face 
expressing  decision  of  purpose;  farther  on,    Elihu   B.  Wash- 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Rainia/I.  41 

burne,  of  Illfnois,  then  known  as  the  father  of  the  House.  Men 
then  known  to  the  whole  country,  and  who  connected  the  past 
glories  of  the  Republic  with  the  hour  of  its  deadly  peril,  a 
peril  which  patriots  had  seen  from  the  beginning,  but  hoped  to 
die  before  the  dreaded  issue  would  drench  the  land  with  the 
blood  of  intestine  war. 

Under  circumstances  like  these  there  was  little  formality  in 
organizing  the  House.  John  Hickman,  of  Pennsylvania,  nom- 
inated Francis  P.  Blair,  jr.,  the  young  and  ambitious  member 
from  Missouri,  afterwards  so  distinguished  as  a  general  in  the 
Union  Army,  for  Speaker. 

Thaddeus  Stevens  nominated  Galusha  A.  Grow,  who  had 
served  ten  years  in  the  House  as  the  successor  of  David  Wil- 
mot,  well  known  to  the  country  as  the  author  of  the  ' '  Wilmot 
proviso"  against  the  extension  of  slavery. 

Fourteen  members  of  the  House  were  voted  for  as  Speaker. 
Francis  P.  Blair,  jr.,  in  person  withdrew  his  name  and  voted 
for  Mr.  Grow.  One  hundred  and  fifty-nine  votes  were  cast, 
and  John  W.  Forney,  Clerk  of  the  former  House,  a  historical 
character,  announced  the  election  of  Mr.  Grow  as  Speaker  of 
the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  by  a  very  large  majority.  He  had 
received  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  votes  cast. 

Speaker  Grow,  with  a  resolute  and  earnest  face,  took  the 
Speaker's  stand  and  delivered  his  address.  It  was  full  of  patri- 
otic sentiment,  well  in  harmony  with  the  feeling  of  Republic- 
ans and  Democrats  alike  who  were  members  of  the  House. 
As  he  uttered  the  following  words  the  silence  of  even  the 
gallery  was  profound,  and  tears  glistened  in  the  eyes  of  many 
of  the  older  members  of  the  House  : 

"If  the  Republic  is  to  be  dismembered  and  the  sun  of  its 
liberty  must  go  down  into  endless  night,  let  it  set  amid  the  roar 


42  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

of  cannon  and  din  of  battle,  when  there  is  no  longer  an  arm 
to  strike  or  a  heart  to  bleed  in  its  cause,  so  that  coming  genera- 
tions may  not  reproach  the  present  with  being  too  imbecile  to 
preserve  the  priceless  legacy  bequeathed  by  our  fathers,  so  as 
to  transmit  it  unimpaired  to  future  times." 

This  was  an  auspicious  beginning.  The  noble  words  I  have 
quoted  exactly  expressed  the  spirit  of  the  House.  The  period 
during  which  Mr.  Grow  presided  as  Speaker  was  full  of  anx- 
iety, sometimes  of  alarm  for  the  public  safety  ;  but  Republicans 
and  Democrats  alike  were  confident  that  the  cause  of  the  Union 
would  triumph.  There  was  never  a  day  or  an  hour  even  dur- 
ing the  session  of  the  22d  of  July,  the  day  after  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  when  either  Republican  or  Democratic  members  felt 
apprehensive  of  the  final  result.  The  anxiety  was  as  to  the 
basis  on  which  the  Union  should  be  restored. 

Speaker  Grow  filled  his  great  office  so  well  that  I  do  not 
think  a  single  appeal  was  taken  from  his  decisions,  and  before 
he  announced,  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1863,  the  final  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress,  he  had  received  the  cor- 
dial commendation  of  his  course  as  Speaker  from  every  mem- 
ber of  the  House. 

I  should  add  that  while  Speaker,  while  Mr.  Grow  was  cour- 
teous and  considerate  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  House  and 
impartial  and  just  in  his  decisions,  he  himself  was  treated  by 
the  members.  Democrats  and  Republicans,  with  more  consid- 
eration and  kindness,  in  that  period  of  public  danger,  than 
might  have  occurred  under  other  conditions. 

But  Galusha  a.  Grow  left  the  Speaker's  chair  with  the  sin- 
cere respect  and  kindly  wishes  of  all  the  members  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Congress,  with  the  universal  feeling  that  he  had  filled 
the  great  office,  at  one  of  the  most  trying  periods  in  our  history, 
ably,  impartially,  and  well. 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  43 

Mr.  Randall  was  first  elected  Speaker  on  the  first  Monday 
in  December,  1876,  at  the  opening  of  the  second  session  of  the 
Forty-fourth  Conoress,  Michael  C.  Kerr,  who  was  elected 
Speaker  at  the  opening  of  that  Congress,  having  died  during 
the  vacation,  in  early  manhood.  His  death  was  sincerely 
regretted  by  every  member  of  the  House.  Mr.  Randall  was 
reelected  Speaker  of  the  Forty-fifth  and  Forty-sixth  Congresses 
one  of  the  few  instances  where  any  member  ever  held  the  oflice 
for  so  long  a  period. 

The  interval  between  the  4th  of  March,  1863,  when  Speaker 
Grow  laid  down  the  gavel,  to  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
1876,  when  Mr.  R.\ndall  first  called  the  House  to  order  as 
Speaker,  was  filled  full  of  great  events. 

The  tremendous  armies,  the  military  resources,  the  terrific 
battles  involved,  on  this  great  theater,  in  deciding  the  issue 
which  successive  generations  of  men  had  transmitted  to  that 
period,  astonished  all  Europe,  where  for  centuries  the  un- 
sheathed sword  was  the  only  symbol  of  power. 

To  the  statesmen  of  Europe  one  result  was  inevitable:  the 
millions  of  men  North  and  South  accustomed  to  the  pursuit  of 
arms  could  never  return  to  the  self-restraint  and  peaceful  indus- 
tries of  a  Republic.  Guerrilla  warfare  would  in  any  event  over- 
throw the  voluntar}'  obedience  to  law  on  which  free  institutions 
must  rest;  hence  France,  with  the  approval  of  other  European 
powers,  established  imperialism  in  Mexico.  But  when  the  last 
decisive  battle  was  fought  the  millions  of  men  of  the  North 
and  of  the  South  in  arms  at  once  understood  how  the  issue  of 
the  war  was  decided.  The  great  armies  melted  away  as  if  by 
magic,  and  at  once  these  millions  of  men  North  and  South,  as 
if  in  gigantic  rivalry,  began  to  restore  and  build  up  peaceful 
industries  on  the  smoldering  ruins  of  war.  The  Union  was 
restored. 


44  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

This  unexampled  event  changed  the  face  of  the  whole  polit- 
ical world.  Only  a  note  from  the  United  States  to  the  Emperor 
of  France  and  every  symbol  of  imperialism  in  Mexico  turned 
to  "  dust  and  ashes  "  and  that  Republic  entered  upon  a  career 
of  greatness  not  previously  achieved. 

How  will  the  historians  of  the  coming  ages,  ever  seeking  to 
discover  a  cause  for  a  great  event,  point  to  the  everliving  force  of 
a  great  example  :  Washington,  when  the  last  battle  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  had  been  fought,  with  simple  majesty,  appear- 
ing before  Congress  and  modestly  delivering  up  the  commission 
which  Congress  seven  years  before  had  given  him  to  "Com- 
mand the  forces  raised  or  to  be  raised  in  defense  of  American 
liberty,"  and  gladly  returning  to  his  beautiful  home  on  the 
banks  of  the  Potomac!  Who  shall  say  that  these  great  armies, 
returning  to  their  homes  and  to  peaceful  industries,  without 
tunuilt  or  disorder,  were  not  animated  by  the  spirit  of  that 
illustrious  example? 

When  Samuel  J.  Randall  first  assiimed  the  seat  of  the 
Speaker  and,  with  a  face  expressing  manly  self-reliance,  called 
the  House  to  order,  how  wonderful  the  contrast  with  the  scene 
when  his  personal  friend,  Galusha  A.  Grow,  assumed  that 
office.  Every  seat  in  this  great  Hall  was  filled,  and  a  more 
kindly  and  fraternal  feeling  existed  among  the  members  from 
the  States,  North  and  South,  a  more  lively  interest  in  the  gen- 
eral welfare,  than  had  been  known  in  Congress  for  more  than 
two  generations. 

Mr.  Randall  had  a  larger  experience  in  legislative  proce- 
dure than  Mr.  Grow  and  became  a  great  master  in  parliamen- 
tary law.  No  man  who  was  ever  Speaker  more  largely  or  more 
beneficially  influenced  the  general  course  of  our  legislation. 
But,  while  the  whole  period  of  his  Speakership  was  one  of  great 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  45 

Congressional  activity,  he  encountered  the  greatest  question  of 
that  period  at  the  very  thresliokl. 

The  Electoral  Commission,  which   was   in   effect   created  to 
decide  who  were  elected  President  and  Vice-President  in  1876, 
and  the  method  of  procedure,  was  provided  for  by  an  act  of 
Congress  when  it  was  uncertain  which  party  would  have  the 
advantage  in  organizing  the  Commission. 

Mr.  Randall  was  a  Democrat,  a  positive  partisan  of  the 
Jeffersonian  school.  He  believed  that  Tilden  and  Hendricks 
had  been  respectively  elected  President  and  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1876,  and  was 
a  warm,  personal  friend  of  both.  When  it  became  obvious  that 
under  the  decisions  of  the  Commission  Mr.  Hayes  would  be 
declared  elected  President,  the  political  friends  of  Mr.  Tilden 
and  Mr.  Hendricks  were  furious  in  their  indignation  of  what 
they  deemed  partisan  decisions  of  that  great  Commission,  but 
Mr.  Randall  resolved  at  once  to  stand  by  the  law.  For  this 
determination  he  was  more  fiercely  assailed  in  the  excitement 
of  the  hour  by  his  political  associates  and  friends  than  I  have 
ever  seen  a  Speaker  of  the  Hotise  assailed  by  his  political  ene- 
mies. It  was  an  hour  of  fiery  passion  and  tumult,  but  he  did 
not  quail  or  "yield  a  tithe  of  a  hair,"  but  firmly  breasted  the 
storm.  "It  is  the  law,"  he  exclaimed,  "and  must  be  exe- 
cuted." I  know  of  no  greater  display-  of  fortitude  in  all  our 
history.  All  the  centuries  have  delighted  to  honor  illustrious 
examples  of  obedience  to  law  and  public  duty  in  the  old  repub- 
lics, but  none  exceed  in  the  greatness  of  the  occasion  or  in  the 
unflinching  fortitude  displayed  than  that  which  occurred  in  this 
Hall  on  that  memorable  occasion. 

The  historian  in  the  progress  of  time  will  explain  how  the 
disaster  of  civil  war  was  averted  by  the  fortitude  of  Samuel  J. 


46  Addresses  delivered  on  the  Presentation  of  the 

Randall  in  resisting  the  passions  of  the  hour  in  obedience  to 
law. 

No  man  in  public  life  suffers  by  performing  his  duty.  After 
this  memorable  contest  Mr.  Randall  was  with  general  approval 
twice  elected  Speaker  of  the  House. 

I  take  from  an  elaborate  article  published  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Randall's  death  in  the  New  York  Sun,  whose  distinguished 
editor,  Gen.  Charles  A.  Dana,  was  a  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Ran- 
dall, the  sentiments  I  at  the  time  expressed,  as  published  in 
that  article,  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Randall  after  years  of 
association  with  him  in  the  affairs  of  this  House : 

"Mr.  Holman,  who  served  with  Mr.  Randall  on  the  Ap- 
propriations Committee  for  many  years,  said  that  Mr.  Ran- 
dall was  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  time,  and  that  during 
the  years  that  he  was  in  Congress  he  had  done  more  to  shape 
legislation  and  had  impressed  his  views  more  clearly  upon  our 
statute  books  than  any  other  man  in  either  House.  He  was  a 
man  of  unswerving  integrity  and  would  never  support  any 
measure  which  involved  any  useless  or  extravagant  expendi- 
ture, even  if  it  was  to  be  spent  in  his  own  district ;  but  if,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  bill  was  for  the  good  of  the  country,  it 
found  in  him  a  warm  friend  and  earnest  advocate.  '  Mr.  Ran- 
dall,' added  Mr.  Holman,  'was  by  long  odds  the  ablest  mem- 
ber of  the  House,  and  was  one  of  its  most  loved  and  respected 
members. ' ' ' 

It  is  a  pleasant  memory  to  me  that  after  intimate  association 
with  Mr.  Randall  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the 
current  business  of  the  House  we  never  differed  in  opinion  on 
public  questions  except  on  one,  the  tariff,  and  as  to  that,  as 
between  ourselves,  knowing  each  other's  views,  we  never  dis- 
cussed it.  That  he  was  surrounded  by  a  great  body  of  per- 
sonal and  political  friends  who  differed  with  him  on  that  issue 
was  natural;  he  was  a  born  leader  among  men.  His  magna- 
nimity and  iidelity  to  duty  secured  him  public  esteem,  and  loy- 
alty to  his  friends  won  to  him  their  sincere  love  and  affection. 


Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall.  47 

Pennsylvania,  with  a  history  of  great  characters  whom  the 
whole  world  delights  to  honor — Penn  and  Franklin  and  their 
successors  who  honored  public  life — can  safely  place  in  her  list 
of  eminent  citizens  the  names  of  Galusha  A.  Grow  and 
Samuel  J.  Randall,  and  this  national  House  of  Representa- 
tives will,  I  am  sure,  express  the  sentiments  of  the  whole 
people  by  accepting  their  portraits. 

There  is  no  blemish  on  the  record  of  either  of  their  lives, 
and  each  in  the  high  office  he  held  rendered  valuable  serv- 
ice to  his  country.  They  were  both  young  men  when  they 
became  Speakers.  Tiieir  manners  in  the  Speaker's  chair  were 
different.  Mr.  Grow,  with  a  countenance  bright  and  cheerful, 
carefully  noted  the  current  of  events.  Mr.  Randall,  whose 
face  was  singularly  elegant  in  the  classical  outline  of  its  fea- 
tures, sat  in  his  chair  firm  and  sedate,  and  with  a  never-absent 
expression  in  his  manners  of  self-reliance.  Mr.  Grow  spoke 
fluently  in  deciding  a  question.  Mr.  Randall  did  not  use  a 
word  more  than  was  necessary  to  express  his  opinion  and  leave 
no  doubt  of  his  meaning.  In  times  of  turbulence  Mr.  Grow, 
bv  the  pleasant  courtesy  of  his  appeal,  brought  the  House  to 
order;  Mr.  Randall,  rising  from  his  seat,  with  every  feature 
of  his  face  and  every  rap  of  the  gavel  expressing  the  authority 
of  the  Speaker,  quelled  the  tumult.  Both  were  fair,  just,  and 
impartial,  and  always  sustained  by  the  House. 

Mr.  Grow  as  a  legislator  is  most  famous  as  one  of  the  first, 
if  not  the  first,  champion  of  the  homestead  policy  of  disposing 
of  the  public  lands,  the  most  beneficent  measure  ever  enacted 
by  Congress,  Mr.  Randall  as  the  champion  of  the  maxim 
"  frugality  in  government  can  alone  secure  honesty  and  purity 
in  its  administration." 

While  differing  in  characteristics  as  Speakers  of  the  House, 
while   one  was  a  Republican  and   the  other  a  Democrat,  both 


48  Portraits  of  Speakers  Grow  and  Randall. 

were  alike  devoted  to  the  welfare,  the  honor,  and  prosperity  of 
their  country. 

Samuel  J.  Randall,  the  work  of  his  life  completed,  leaving 
a  great  record  of  beneficent  public  service,  scarcely  nineteen 
months  ago  passed  on  to  that  better  country,  where  the  just 
and  the  good  flourish  in  immortal  youth.  And  his  fellow- 
citizens  have  written  his  epitaph  in  imperishable  words,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant. ' " 

Galusha  a.  Grow,  in  the  vigor  of  life,  is  still  in  our  midst, 
respected  and  honored  by  his  countrymen  in  all  the  States  of 
the  Union.  He  is,  while  I  am  speaking,  gracing  as  of  old,  as 
a  guest  of  the  House,  the  Speaker's  chair  by  the  side  of  the 
now  honored  Speaker  of  the  House,  a  pleasing  incident  of  this 
hour.  I  feel  that  I  will  have  the  sympathy  of  every  member 
in  expressing  the  hope  that  a  beneficent  Providence  will  pro- 
long his  life  for  many  years-,  that  he  may  behold,  year  after 
year,  in  the  ever-growing  prosperity  of  our  country,  the  value 
of  the  Union  of  the  States  which  he  so  manfully  upheld. 
[Applause.  ] 

I  therefore,  Mr.  Speaker,  submit  the  resolution  which  I  send 
to  the  Clerk's  desk: 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolc'ed,  That  this  House  has  received  with  great  satisfac- 
tion the  portraits  of  Hon.  Galusha  A.  Grow,  Speaker  of  the 
Thirty-seventh  Congress,  and  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Randall, 
Speaker  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress  at  its  second  session  and 
of  the  Forty-fifth  and  Forty-sixth  Congresses,  presented  by  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  will  cause  them  to  be 
placed  and  preserved  among  those  of  the  other  distinguished 
men  who  in  times  past  have  presided  over  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Holman  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

C 


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